No manual shifter?

Interesting comments cesman. I haven't read every posting in this thread, but I will say in a car like the enzo or 599GTB the F1 box doesn't bother me as it just seems to go with the design theme (ultimate performacne w/enzo, amazing outright abilities and comfort with the 599)...I guess it bothers me most in a lighter mid-engined "pure sports car" like the 360/430/458...

 

manual shifter or not ... anyone planning on doing the Ferrari Driving Experience at Mt Tremblent this summer? Fleet of 14 cars includes 458, 599 HGTE, 430 Scud and California so it says on the website

 

I was at F of Palm Beach this afternoon and salesman said that he has been fielding lots of requests for 6 speeds lately.

Could it partially be that people always want what they can't have?

I have no regrets at all that my first is a three pedal car.

 

Not entirely true, the car(in terms of the performance etc) was amazing, however i feel that i could have been better, and would've had a more natural feel to it, if it were a manual.

I walked away dissappointed as i felt as if i did not get a true feel for the car because it did not feel right without a proper manual

 

I may be out of line here, but when I read that someone feels a Monaro is a more engaging driving experience than a Ferrari with paddle shifted tranny, the best I can do is roll my eyes. On the other hand, I could ask "WHAT THE F%$* ARE YOU SMOKING DUDE?!!!"

 

LMAO

 

I'm with 410SA on this. If you were talking about a 355F1, or a 360 i could understand it as the delay does take a little getting used to.

I suspect you didn't drive the car hard enough to experence the merits . . .

 

I once had someone tell me they were disappointed after driving the 430 Scuderia! There's no accounting for some folk...

 

I know I'll get flamed for this, but...

I would never buy a Ferrari, or any other exotic for that matter, with a paddle shifter. Being able to drive a true manual is an art, one that is dying. I'd rather know that I have complete control of the car and have the skill to drive a stick, not everyone can. However, anyone can climb in a paddle shift car and drive it hard

 

Exactly what im trying to get at.

You guys are comparing the cars (Monaro to 430), Im talking about the driving experience.

It feels alot more proper driving stick, as you have control of the car.

And exactly, anyone could jump in a paddle shift and push it hard, it's not hard, unless you're paranoid about everything on the road that is haha

 

Eh... yeah, right. Well I suppose that depends on your definition of "push it hard".

 

I have to chime in on this, my current cars are a supercharged gearshift 997 (you can check my posts and see just how moded it is will out run most exotics), and a moded (RWD and much more) E gear Gallardo, both have all nannys disabled, I can tell you not everyone would be able to get into either of them and drive them hard and still be alive. I might just end up with a 458, it is starting to grow on me. I owned a 430 gearshift coupe, I loved it, but time moves on.

 

progress is progress. It will always happen, such as drums vs disc, live axel vs IRS, no seat belts vs seat belts, launch control over nothing, bias plies vs radials, carbs vs fuel injection and on and on and on...

I am going to be honest and say i haven't read every single post in this thread but I have read quiet a bit...

has anyone thought of the "angle" of Ferrari originally built road cars to support racing. This technology/success was transfered into his road cars. So the switch to paddle shifters is in the spirit of the marque and legend. Furthermore, those claiming for more feel etc... how about those who claim the feel of a modern race car vs a vintage race car? The gearboxes in all of the cars we dream of driving are a sequential gearbox of some sort. So to have the closest "FEEL" of a modern race car... flappy paddle it is. IF you want the old school vintage "feel" and shifting buy any one of the 50 years of Ferraris offered before the 458.

 

you missed that his car is supercharged... not turbocharged... autos benefit turbocharged cars

 

I think you might have missed my point, anyone on here that thinks you can get into any paddle shift car and drive it hard without any skill as a driver, has probably never drive one very hard.

 

I never said that anyone can hop in any paddle car and be fast/drive hard. I'm just saying it takes more skill to drive a stick than a paddle car. For everyday use, anyone can use a paddle car, but not everyone can use a clutch. On a track the paddle is faster, no doubt about it. Neither will be easy to drive to the limit. But for a Sunday cruise, driving around town, going to work, etc, a paddle is a much easier car to drive than a stick

 

I think that sums up much of this tread with much of the reverence toward the stick coming from Americans who spend most of their time in autos, so a manual is seen as a difficult drive. In Europe most everyone drives stick so we think nothing of it in terms of how difficult it is to drive. Every granny on the block can use a clutch. In fact a whole lot of 'em don't like autos.

 

Its funny, my wife is Brazilian, and she loved driving my 355 because it was a proper manual, she has never driven my 430 because she does not like the F1 system and does not understand the difference between an F1 and an autobox.

 

Well, we sure beat this one to death.

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

Agreed, time to euthanize.

Dave

 

whats funny about that... is that the Europeans who don't like autos... are the ones who came up with the first production sequential transmission (BMW SMG1 on the 95+ BMW M3s) and have continued the charge with the introduction of the F1 gearbox on the 355, and every model introduced after that... along with it being soley offered on the Qporte at initial launch, the preferred trans on the Gran turismo, Lambo with e-gear, audi with R tronic, VW with DSG, Porsche with PDK (one of the first makers to ever make a sequential gearbox <not in production, for racing use>) BMW with SMGs and DCT, Ferrari with there dual clutch, Mercedes with theres, McClaren with theres, Aston and so on and so forth...

So pretty much... if you want a Manual transmission all of those pesky Americans who prefer Autos, are the ones who still offer the manual transmission... where as the europeans seem to have voted by doing the Sequential box...

Maybe the better phrase is Europeans don't like torque converters...